The gallery in Brno is exhibiting designs for the Jewish museum, including the winning concept

Brno - Visitors to the Architecture Gallery on Starobrněnská Street will begin viewing a model of a construction that could significantly change the face of Brno starting today. The organizers of the competition for a new building of the Moravian Jewish Museum Mehrin have displayed designs there, including the winning entry from the Japanese studio Kengo Kuma & Associates. The exhibition will last until November 15, Martin Reiner from the organizers informed ČTK.

Kuma's design resembles a spool or a rolled ribbon with an atrium and a tree in the middle. It includes a library, a museum, and a restaurant with a panoramic view of the city. The Japanese architects loosely drew on the symbolism of a woven basket, where each subsequent generation represents another layer. "Generations are always interwoven like the twigs in a basket," they wrote about the design. Kuma is now expected to elaborate the proposal in more detail.

Four prestigious invited studios from different countries participated in the competition. A 15-member jury, chaired by architect Josef Pleskot, selected from the proposals.

"The spectrum of interpretation was bounded by two extreme positions - a house as a monument (an independent sculpture) and a house as a civil, friendly, open medium. The model of an open house in contact with the public surrounding ground floor was chosen, after extensive discussion, for its comprehensive fulfillment of the assignment and for the city of Brno as more suitable," the jury wrote in their assessment.

It was precisely for the content and formal openness that the jury ultimately chose the proposal by Kengo Kuma and his colleagues over the "eruptive, emotional, and crystalline" design from the Dutch studio MVRDV. The Dutch opted for a more monument-like house.

The Moravian Jewish Museum Mehrin is a project that has been developing since the spring of 2019. The idea was initiated by writer Reiner. A foundation has been created that will seek funding for the construction on city land opposite the Grand Hotel at the train station in Brno in the coming years.

The museum will present to the public the history of the Jewish presence in Moravia, particularly through authentic life stories, presented using 21st-century technology.